Airbus is aiming to decide whether to launch an A320 family re-engining programme by the Farnborough air show in July, for service entry from the end of 2015.
Speaking at the Singapore air show, the airframer's chief operating officer customers John Leahy said that the airframer had told customers that it will make a decision on the proposed upgrade this year, and hopes for an early decision. "Ideally I'd like to have it sorted out by the Farnborough air show," he says.
The upgrade will be offered as an option across the A319, A320 and A321 models, says Leahy, who repeats his aim to have new engine offerings from the two incumbent suppliers CFM International and International Aero Engines. While CFM has its Leap X advanced turbofan, Leahy says the latter "appears" to be planning to offer a "new generation" of the geared turbofan being developed by IAE partner Pratt & Whitney.
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"These engines would be available by the end of 2015, and the target would be 15% lower fuel burn per seat," he adds.
Leahy says that Airbus plans to offer the re-engining as "an option if the operator wanted it. This would put the all-new single-aisle airplane, what we call the A30X, off to the middle of the next decade, around 2024."
- All the latest news, images and video from the Singapore Airshow 2010
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
